BC 2 Types what u recommend

[wizard1325]

ok i notice most instructors i met got the BC that inflates the back only

I have a Tusa that does the back and sides

is the back inflated BCs better for bouyance?<~~typo

i mean what u guys recommend

 

[rstofer]

Your BC would be classified as a jacket style and the other is a back-inflate. You won't find much support for jacket style BCs on Scubaboard. The complaint has always been that the jacket tends to squeeze you as it is inflated. I debate this and I still like my 1988 model SeaQuest ADVi. However, it is retired in favor of a Deep Sea Supply BP/W.

The good news with the jacket style is that much of the flotation is low - just above your hips. As a result, you will float higher in the water. Unless your BC just rides up in which case you can add a crotch strap.

Others complain that the back-inflate tends to push you face forward on the surface. This is probably true if the bladder is over inflated in an attempt to get farther out of the water. Ordinarily, it is problem only in dive forums, not in the ocean.

The BP/W (backplate and wing) has characteristics like the back-inflate BC but there is a lot of support on Scubaboard for the BP/W because it is minimalist and modular.

From the point of view of buoyancy, lift is lift. All are equal as long as they produce the same amount of lift - more or less. Lift only works when the bladder is in the water so a back-inflate that rides up won't get you very far out of the water.

The real point is trim - your horizontal position in the water. This is where the BP/W shines because the plate can move some weight off your weightbelt/harness and put it behind your back. The plate also provides a stable platform to support the tank. A crotch strap is almost always used. Not only does it prevent the wing from riding up but it helps stabilize the tank.

Look at www.deepseasupply.com for very good BP/Ws. I like mine!

Richard

 

[keithdiver]

ok i notice most instructors i met got the BC that inflates the back only

I have a Tusa that does the back and sides

is the back inflated BCs better for bouyance?<~~typo

i mean what u guys recommend

BP/w BP/W why drive a camaro when you can have a Cadillac:shocked2:

 

[DiveGear4Less]

I have always found back inflates to be more comfortable. I really don't like the squeeze of the jacket BCs, even with just a little inflation. With the back inflate you can fully inflate the bladder (not that you would want or need to do this) and never feel anything. Any system can be trimmed out properly in the water by a good diver.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

ok i notice most instructors i met got the BC that inflates the back only

You are close to cave country; are those instructors also cave divers and are those BC's possibly BP/W?

You won't find much support for jacket style BCs on Scubaboard.

Perhaps that is because the "web only" controversy on this subject causes the majority of SB members to be silent about their vest BC (by the way - in my eyes a jacket has sleeves).

In contrast, in another thread, a retailer gave statistics indicating that nationwide (US) sales of BP/Ws equaled less than 1% of the total market. I don't imagine BIs do that much better. That leaves more than 95% of the market to jacket style BCDs, which does not indicate that they are all abandoning them in disappointment and flocking to the BP/W.

As much as some people hate to believe it, the overwhelming majority of divers use jacket style BCDs, and they are quite content to do so. I even know several highly experienced and highly skilled instructors who used to dive BIs but who switched to jacket style--and they prefer it.

A lot more divers are successfully diving in vest BC's than in both the non-vest BC's together. Are even a tenth of them wrong?

why drive a camaro when you can have a Cadillac?

If I needed something like a Camaro I would drive a Mustang. My grandpa left me a Mercury that was way cooler than a Caddy!

Any system can be trimmed out properly in the water by a good diver.

This is correct for the most part.

 

[rstofer]

I have always found back inflates to be more comfortable. I really don't like the squeeze of the jacket BCs, even with just a little inflation. With the back inflate you can fully inflate the bladder (not that you would want or need to do this) and never feel anything. Any system can be trimmed out properly in the water by a good diver.

Must be nice to dive in warm water! Those of us using wetsuits in cold water may very well find ourselves with the bladder full or nearly full while diving at depths where the pressure has compressed the wetsuit causing it to lose most of its buoyancy. This will certainly be true at the beginning of the dive where the steel tank is most negative.

As I wrote earlier, I am not going to throw my SeaQuest ADVi under a bus. I liked it when I bought it in '88 and I still like it. Sure, its a jacket style BC but I never thought it crushed me all that much. Yes, I know the difference between when it is full and when it is empty. But its not uncomfortable.

Richard

 

[Joe21]

I prefer a back inflating bc, whether a bp/w or back inflate bc I have both it just depends on what im doing. Back inflating BCs have better trim in my opinion and hold you more horizontal in the water.

 

[Atomic_Diver]

If it must be a BCD go with a Cressi Sub Bac Jac, or Zeagle Ranger Ltd, if you go BP/W have a look at a Dive Rite Transpac T3000, Travel or Venture Wing, and a Crotch Strap, its a really good system ~~~> Dive Rite Express is now Dive Gear Express or ~~~> Cave Adventurers!, We will NOT be undersold!!!

 

[wizard1325]

so whats the best back inflated out there in the market now?

 

[wizard1325]

still researching this issue guys should i get it with the plate or without?